Edison Mayor Reeves Lane resigns amid city financial crisis

EDISON — Reeves Lane resigned from his position as mayor of this small community after about 30 years of holding the title.

The Edison City Council held a meeting Monday at City Hall, where it accepted Lane’s resignation, called for a special election on Nov. 7 and held an executive session to discuss a pending lawsuit against the city for which no information was shared with citizens or the media.

Mayor Pro Tem Billy Timpson; council members Jane Ingram, Jack Johnson and Tamara Shedrick; City Clerk Demetric Jackson, and City Attorney Tommy Coleman were all present for the special meeting.

Lane failed to make an appearance, much to the frustration of council members and about 10 members of the public who attended. The Albany Herald attempted to reach Lane by phone three times Monday bit had no success in reaching him.

Each council member joined in the motion to approve the resignation, after some debate, except for Ingram. She called for accountability from Lane regarding the city’s financial crisis.

Edison was reported to be $450,000 in debt by Coleman and has also failed to file legally required annual audits since 2018. The mayor and council members are facing increasing pressure from the public to begin working toward fixing this problem as well as answering Edison’s citizens as to how city finances got into this condition.

“We should deny until we find out the problem,” Ingram said. “We need some questions answered.”

However, Coleman suggested accepting the resignation was the best option to move forward with a solution.

“It’s hard to get someone to work who doesn’t want to,” he said.

A new mayor will be a change for the city, Coleman said.

“It will be a huge adjustment on top of all the extraordinary financial demands,” he said.

Timpson will serve as mayor until the special election.

The second half of the meeting was used to discuss the threat of a lawsuit, Coleman said. He refused to share any specifics on the lawsuit, as it is pending. The public and media were asked to leave. However, Richard West, owner of Edison’s only grocery store, West IGA, was able to listen in.

He is trying to help the city raise some of its funds as well as understand what happened to its money, West said. The current crisis comes from a failure to raise rates accordingly and increase revenue, he said. One way this took shape was not charging enough for garbage pickup.

Tia Ingram, a 38-year-old resident who plans to run for a council position, agreed that the mayor should resign in hopes that a fresh perspective in the position would help to move the city forward. However, she said she believes Lane’s failure to appear at the Monday meeting was disrespectful.

“How is it fair?” she said. “You can’t even face us? You could’ve at least showed up.”

Ingram said she is feeling hopeful about the upcoming election for which qualifying begins Tuesday. The current council is not maximizing their power, she said. Others who have expressed interest in running are prepared to make progress.

“Everyone will be seen,” she said. “Everyone will be heard. We have a common goal and are willing to do the work.”

The people who take office need to be for the city and for its people, Ingram said.

Staff Photo: Lucille Lannigan